Netherlands

There were 14,304,600 internet users in Netherlands (representing 85.6% of the population) in September 2009, according to Internet World Stats. This was up by 266.8% compared to 2000. (Internet World Stats, November 2009)

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eMarketer estimates the number of internet users and penetration level in Netherlands for the period between 2007 and 2012 as follows: 
- 2007: 13.3 million (80.1% of the population)
- 2008: 13.6 million (81.9%)
- 2009: 13.9 million (83.2%)
- 2010: 14.1 million (83.9%)
- 2011: 14.2 million (84.5%)
- 2012: 14.3 million (84.6%)

(eMarketer, February 2008)

Digital Media

Media use via the internet in the Netherlands is displacing traditional forms of published media such as printed newspapers, according to Statistics Netherlands. Just over half of internet users in the Netherlands listened to radio and/or watched television programmes online in 2008, while a slightly lower proportion read newspapers online or downloaded them.

The percentage of Dutch internet users who read or downloaded newspapers via the internet rose by more than a third between 2005 and 2008. The increase in watching and listening to television and radio programmes online is even larger: it has more than doubled since 2005. In 2008, for the first time the number of people who watched television programmes and listened to radio programmes via the internet was larger than the number of people who read newspapers online.

Male internet users more often read newspapers online than female internet users, 54 compared with 41%. Just over half of 25-44 year-olds read newspapers online. For other age groups this share is just over 40%. 1 in 8 people who read newspapers online had a subscription to the online newspaper.

Internet television and radio programmes are very popular among internet users younger than 25 years. Just over 70% of these young people use these media. The use of internet to watch and listen to television and radio programmes decreases as age increases. For people aged 25 years and older, online television and radio is about just as popular as online newspapers. 

The rise of online media products is displacing traditional physical media such as newspapers. The total domestic circulation of daily newspapers fell by some 16% between 2002 and 2008, from 4.3 million to 3.6 million copies. (Statistics Netherlands, May 2009) 

90% of all 12-75 year-olds in the Netherlands had home access to the internet in the Spring of 2009, which means the medium is now firmly entrenched in Dutch society, according to an ICT Survey by Statistics Netherlands. (Statistics Netherlands, October 2009)

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The Netherlands has the highest percentage of households in the European Union with home internet connections. Only one in eight Dutch people have either no access to the internet from their own home (1.2 million), or do have access, but do not use it (0.5 million).  Two-thirds of people with no home connection have a relatively low education level.  Around half are over 65 years of age and/or single.  Youngsters aged up to 25 years nearly all have access to the internet from home: only 2% of this age group do not.

Nearly six in ten people who do not have internet access do not want it or are not interested in access, 12% think it costs too much. Privacy considerations and physical handicaps are mentioned by only very few people as reasons for not having an internet connection at home.

People younger than 60 who do not use their internet connection have lower education levels than their peers with no connection at all. Level of education is therefore a relevant distinguishing characteristic in all groups.

People who do not have internet access at home are also less likely to use other modern technologies such as mobile phones. Fewer than seven in ten Dutch people without internet at home sometimes use a mobile phone, compared with 95% of people with internet access. (Statistics Netherlands, December 2008)

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More and more Dutch consumers are shopping online. Nearly three-quarters of the 11.8 million internet users in the Netherlands said in Spring 2009 that they had purchased a product online, according to an ICT Survey by Statistics Netherlands.  Just over two-thirds of them are frequent online shoppers, and had bought a product online in the three months preceding the survey. This is more than half of internet users. In comparison, in 2002, only 2 out of 10 internet users were frequent online shoppers.

Convenience and flexibility for consumers are the main reasons for the substantial growth in online shopping in recent years. 7 out of 10 internet users who bought products online said the main reason for doing so were convenience, saving time and shopping when it suited them. In addition they can buy products which are often not available in the areas where they live. Lower prices and a wider range of products to choose from are also important reasons for people to shop online.

The most frequently mentioned online purchase is holiday accommodation. This is followed by theatre, concert and festival tickets, books and magazines, clothing, and sports items.

Consumers who had bought a product online in the three months preceding the survey had often done this more than once. More than three-quarters of this group said they had bought items via the web between 1 and 6 times. The remaining quarter had done so more than 6 times in the previous three months. Just over 4 in 10 shoppers spent a total of 100 and 500 euros. 1 in 3 spent less, and just under a quarter said they spent more. Although more people are shopping online, total turnover in this branch is still relatively low, at just over 4 billion euros. (Statistics Netherlands, October 2009)

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43% of all individuals in the Netherlands had used internet for ordering goods or services in the first quarter of 2008, according to the results of the survey on Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) usage by Eurostat. (Eurostat, December 2008)

Online Travel Market

50% of all individuals aged 16-74 in the Netherlands had used internet for travel and accommodation services in the first quarter of 2008, according to the results of the survey on Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) usage by Eurostat. (Eurostat, December 2008)

The Netherlands Board Of Tourism & Conventions has announced the launch of http://us.holland.com, a fully Web2.0 based site, as well as the official launch of the world's first National Tourism Board in Second Life, www.hollandsecondlife.com. 

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The new Holland.com is a fully web2.0 based website. It offers a quick and easy way to find information about travel to Holland, but also invites users to be part of an interactive Dutch travel community. Registered users are a valuable piece of this mutually beneficial community and permit you to share first-hand information about your past trips and contribute articles, videos and images, allowing the site to evolve and strengthen on a continuous basis. Not only do users contribute content, but the site automates content collection through XML and RSS feeds, such as Google news, Yahoo Travel, Flickr and YouTube. Furthermore, by rating and commenting on virtually everything throughout the site, users force the most informative content to become prominent and useful for everyone. (eTN TravelWireNews, September 2007)

85% of all 12-75 year-olds in the Netherlands with home internet access had a broadband connection in the Spring of 2009, according to an ICT Survey by Statistics Netherlands. European figures show that the Netherlands leads the field in this respect. (Statistics Netherlands, October 2009)

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74% of households in the Netherlands had a broadband internet connection during the first quarter of 2008, according to the results of the survey on Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) usage by Eurostat. This was up from 74% in 2007 and 66% in 2006. (Eurostat, December 2008)

Watching TV and listening to the radio over the internet has rapidly become widespread. The proportion of online TV watchers has increased from 26% in 2005 to 52% in 2008.  Young people in particular watch television and listen to music over the internet.

In June 2008, mobile television was introduced. More than 10 thousand households currently watch TV via mobile communication networks.  (Statistics Netherlands, December 2008)

Mobile internet access is gaining popularity very quickly in the Netherlands. Three out of ten internet users said they had used a mobile web connection in Spring 2009, according to an ICT Survey by Statistics Netherlands. In comparison, in 2007 this was only 2 out of 10. Most people use mobile phones and laptops for mobile internet access. (Statistics Netherlands, October 2009)